Speaker Lineup Announced: This Land Is Your Land March for Public Lands

The outdoor industry is lucky to have a venerable circle of outdoor legends, leaders and partners who are advocates for and stewards of public lands. March with them and hear them speak about why those lands should be celebrated.

The outdoor industry and others interested from the community will march from the Salt Palace Convention Center to the Utah State Capitol beginning at 4:30 p.m. At the capitol at approximately 5:30 p.m., industry leaders and experts will hold a 45-minute rally to raise issues to spark further public lands discussion and action.

The purpose of the march is to

Celebrate America’s bipartisan love for getting outside on public lands.

Highlight the national and the Utah outdoor recreation economies. OIA will release new industry economic impact information, industry jobs numbers and taxes contributed by outdoor recreation during Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. Outdoor recreation contributes $887 billion annually to the U.S. economy and supports 7.6 million jobs. Come to the march to hear the economic numbers specific to Utah.

Thank Salt Lake City for hosting Outdoor Retailer for more than 20 years with a special Utah-specific Parks4Kids grant through The Outdoor Foundation.

The speaker lineup includes

Amy Roberts, Adam Cramer and John Sterling, executive directors of OIA, Outdoor Alliance and The Conservation Alliance, respectively. Each leader will speak about the importance of public lands to their membership and stakeholders.

Shaun Chapoose, Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee member and founding member of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, will reflect on the importance of the Native American perspective on our public lands.

Jerry Stritzke, CEO of REI, will talk about the economic and societal value of life outdoors in this country, and why it’s so important we are united in our efforts to build nonpartisan support for public lands, for the health of our industry today and for future generations.

Blake Spalding, owner of the acclaimedHell’s Backbone Grillin Boulder, Utah, will express the importance of public lands to her successful business that serves the community and visitors of Grand Staircase Escalante Monument.

Conrad Anker, professional climber and captain ofThe North Face global athlete team, will comment as a long-time advocate for public lands and conservation on both local and national levels.

“This strong roster of speakers demonstrates the strong beliefs and conviction that the outdoor industry has around protecting our public lands,” said Amy Roberts, OIA executive director. We look forward to walking side by side with the industry and the Salt Lake City community to celebrate public lands.”

As a thank-you to the state of Utah, the industry will present Utah’s Director of Outdoor Recreation Tom Adams, Mayor McAdams and Mayor Biskupski a grant that will provide funding to get Utah elementary students outside to experience Utah’s public lands through theParks4Kids Utahprogram. For the last 20 years, the Salt Lake City, Utah, community has welcomed the outdoor industry to conduct business in and around the Outdoor Retailer winter and summer markets. This program provides a way to continue investing in the state of Utah, public lands and outdoor recreation.

To join the This Land Is Our Land March and add your voice to the conversation, click here to RSVP to the Facebook invite and use #MarchForPublicLands and #KeepPublicLandsPublic to continue the conversation on social media. March attendees are encouraged to read the This Land Is Our Land March for Public Lands Code of Conductandthese tipsprior to attending the march.